Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam announced the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development has joined forces with Garth Brooks to host a free celebration event to commemorate Brooks’ becoming the first recording artist in history to earn seven Diamond Certifications from the Recording Industry Association of America.

TDTD has invested in several Brand USA co-op programs for FY16-17 and invites partners to participate.

In most cases, Brand USA invests 40-60 percent of the programs with Tennessee Department of Tourist Development buying down the remaining investment by 25-50 percent to make our collective dollars go further internationally.

Tourism and hospitality professionals from across the state will come together September 21– 23 in Chattanooga for the industry’s premier annual event, the 2016 Tennessee Governor’s Conference on Hospitality. With a great host city, outstanding keynote speakers and educational seminars, two simultaneous tradeshows, along with exceptional social and networking events, this year’s conference promises to be the best yet.

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to feature your destination in the 2017 Tennessee Vacation Guide listings. The deadline has been extended to August 1 to be included in the listings section of the guide.

It turns out the toughest part of selling vacation travel is to convince Americans to take a vacation in the first place. According to a recent survey published by Skift, more than four in ten Americans (41 percent) report they did not take a single vacation day in 2015. ...